


This is why you don’t pretend to be straight!

by Elizandre



Series: Tropevember! [13]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: 30 Days of Writing, Best Friends, Friends to Lovers, Gay Nishinoya Yuu, M/M, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, Pining, Pining Tanaka Ryuunosuke, Rare Pairings, Tropes, Tropevember, Wordcount: 1.000-5.000, tropevember challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2020-11-12
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:09:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27590486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elizandre/pseuds/Elizandre
Summary: Tanaka Ryuunosuke is not dumb.He spotted the crush coming a mile away - and by ‘a mile away’ he really means that he felt the ‘thunk’ of Cupid’s arrow piercing his heart the very first time he saw Nishinoya Yuu diving to rescue a volleyball with fire in his eyes.(Written for Tropevember 2020, Day 12: Best friends to lovers)
Relationships: Nishinoya Yuu/Tanaka Ryuunosuke
Series: Tropevember! [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1995202
Comments: 4
Kudos: 58





	This is why you don’t pretend to be straight!

**Author's Note:**

> Im TanaNoya trash.
> 
> I hope you enjoy! Check out the rest of my Tropevember fics if you like this!
> 
> Xoxo

So, despite what people might think about him, Tanaka isn’t dumb. I mean, SURE, his grades aren’t the best and academically he’s not the brightest - but emotionally? He’s pretty in tune with it all.

He supposes it comes from being practically raised by his sister. Emotions are never something the Tanaka siblings run away from - be it anger, frustration, joy... love. It’s why he’s so... lively on the court! He embraces his frustration and excitement, using it as fuel to play better.

It’s also why - back to the original point - he’s not dumb. He spotted the crush coming a mile away - and by ‘a mile away’ he really means that he felt the ‘thunk’ of Cupid’s arrow piercing his heart the very first time he saw Nishinoya, the boy’s eyes alight as he dove to rescue a volleyball.

The small, sparrow of a boy had him completely entranced... and Tanaka was more than ready to march across the room and tell him so, but the other beat him to it.

He can still remember the way Nishinoya’s warm eyes turned to him, the burning embers within them transforming into a roaring fire. They stared at one another, frozen in time for a moment, before the Libero had straightened from his crouch, a smug smile settling on his face as he began to cross the gym towards him.

Expecting the boy to slow as he got nearer, Tanaka watched as he grew closer and closer and... passed by him completely.

... What?

Turning in confusion, he swore he felt his heart physically break a little bit as he watched his tiny bird fall to his knees before an - admittedly stunning - black-haired girl, professing his love loudly for the entire gym to hear.

Oh... he’s straight then, Ryuu thought to himself with a small, self-deprecating chuckle. He must have been imagining the connection then... no problem. He’s Tanaka Ryuunosuke! He’ll get over it - it’s not like he’s never had crushes before, right?

Wrong.

Here he is, over a year later, still nursing a humongous crush on the libero, who is now his self-proclaimed best friend... yep.

Talk about shooting yourself in the foot, Tanaka.

But he can’t help it! Case in point, they are currently playing against Shiratorizawa, trying their hardest to get to nationals - but all Tanaka can think about is the way the light is reflecting off Yuu’s hair, and how the embers that are always alight in his honey eyes are currently a firestorm, and how his tongue occasionally dips out of his delicate mouth to wet his chapped lips.

He can’t help it!

This happens in every game they play together - the boy’s presence is far too strong to ignore, not that Tanaka would ever want to ignore him... because he’s been crushing on the guy for over a year now, and he thinks... he might stand a chance.

Small glances his way, intense eye contact, little unnecessary touches... it all adds up to emotionally intelligent Ryuu; his friend has a crush on him too.

Now he just has to get through this match with Shit-atorizawa, so he can figure out how to confess.

He can hear his sister shouting, encouraging Yuu to stop Ushijima’s spikes which makes him smile. She’s always been supportive of his crush. Throwing out his own supportive comment to the libero, they share a vicious grin.

“If anyone can do it, it’s you,” he says with a smile, turning to stare down Ushijima. He knows Nishinoya can stop him! His faith in the other’s skills is as unwavering as his affection.

A small intake of breath from the other, before a hum of confirmation, is all he gets in reply, but he’s not offended. His friend is going into concentration mode, and Tanaka should be doing the same. Crouching closer to the ground, loosening his legs, he releases his own breath, eyes focusing on the players over the net.

The game is gruelling. Tanaka worries about him legs giving out on him on numerous occasions, but after each point won - each shared hug of victory with Yuu - he digs deeper into his emotional well, pulling upon the determination and stubbornness he’s so well known for, charging into battle with a war cry.

Seeing their demon duo struggling, he pushes himself harder, sharing a nod of understanding with Daichi and Asahi - they need to protect their key players... so that’s what they do.

He jumps and spikes and receives in a blur, eyes flitting between the ball and Yuu constantly, pulling up more and more energy to keep fighting when he sees how determined their libero is.

He barely even registers it at first, the sound of the ball hitting the court ringing like a death toll in the silent arena. It’s not until he hears his sister’s cheers and feels a small body colliding with his own that he realises what has happened.

“We’ve... won?” He asks, voice cracking as he stares around the raucous arena stands in shock.

“Hell yeah, we did!” Comes an invigorated shout from below.

Looking down, he does a double take when he sees how close Yuu’s face is to his own, honey eyes staring up at him with a fiery pride and joy.

“Holy shit... HOLY SHIT!” He exclaims, laughing as he sags against the smaller boy, legs slowly giving out the longer he stands around doing nothing.

Laughing with him, Nishinoya lets out a loud yell, wrapping his arms more firmly around the spiker’s torso, happily taking the extra weight.

Staring at his friend, joyous laughter slowing to a stop, he wonders if now is the time he was waiting for... but should he do it? In front of all these people...

“Yuu...” he says, voice quieter and much more tender than he’d meant it to be, making the other boy’s eyes widen in surprise - and what he thinks is delight?

“Yeah?” He asks breathlessly, a large smile painted on his face.

“I—”

“JUST DO IT ALREADY!” Interrupts him, his sister’s harsh voice filtering down from the stands, making him cringe. He turns, intending to glare her to death, but is stopped by a soft pressure on his cheek. 

Freezing in shock, the sensation stays there for a couple of seconds, before pulling away. Turning back around, a speechless Tanaka comes face to face with a very red - very nervous looking - Yuu.

His sister’s happy screams of, “FINALLY!” Melt into the background as he tries to find his voice. “Did you...”

“Yeah...”

“But—”

“I’m sorry...” and fuck, THAT won’t do!

“Oh, hell no! Nothing to be sorry for! Nope! Definitely not,” Tanaka rambles, shaking his head emphatically, making Nishinoya giggle. “Not bad... just confused. Yep. Very confused.” He says, eyes watching the other carefully.

“Uhm... what about?” Yuu asks, biting his lip to stop a smile from curling up at how cute and flustered Tanaka is.

“How about ALL OF IT?! I mean - I’d thought MAYBE you... but KIYOKO! And you never... that first time...” he trails off, words failing him once more.

“Oh. Yeah... well, she’s gay, and I’m gay, so we kind of agreed that the best way to hide that was to pretend I was in love with her?”

“... What?”

“Yeah! You see, we actually met at this LGBTQ+ club thing before I came to Karasuno? She explained that the guys at school liked her... but maybe I could get them to back off if they thought I liked her and was all protective and shit?” Yuu explains, waving a hand in the air.

“So you were... pretending to be in love with her this whole time?”

“Yep! Man! I almost ruined the entire thing that first day of club when you walked into the gym... I mean, if she hadn’t walked in behind you while I was coming over, I’d have confessed there and then!” He exclaims happily, like Tanaka’s world view hasn’t just been flipped on its head.

“I... thought you were going to...” Tanaka admits softly.

“Wait, really?!” Yuu asks in shocks

“Uh, yeah?! If you hadn’t crossed the gym to come to me, then I’d have come across and confessed to you! I only didn’t because you beat me to it!” Tanaka exclaims. He can’t believe... all this time! HE’D BEEN RIGHT!

“Oh... damn it! This is why you don’t pretend to be straight!” Yuu shouts mournfully, falling into Tanaka dramatically, before tilting his head up to look at the other. “So... do you still...?” He asks hopefully.

Barking out a laugh at the absurdity of the question, he grabs a handful of Yuu’s shirt, hauling him up into a bruising kiss to answer his question.

And the crowd goes wild!


End file.
